People mingle and shop in downtown Woodstock on Thursday / Karl Rabe/Poughkeepsie Journal

Written by

Shantal Parris Riley

Poughkeepsie Journal

That was the consensus of business owners in the Village of Woodstock Thursday, as hundreds of mourners poured in to pay their last respects to the legendary musician.

“Levon Helm had a great influence on this town, not only spiritually and musically, but also economically,” said Fiona Saxman, owner of the White Gryphon on Tinker Street.

“When people would come in here on the magical nights when he had the Ramble, they were so excited. They wanted little trinkets, whether it was a piece of jewelry or a peace badge — anything that said ‘Woodstock,’ ” she said.

Saxman was speaking about Helm’s Midnight Rambles, held in his Woodstock studios and home, boasting performances by the likes of musicians such as Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello and Rickie Lee Jones.

“The Rambles brought people in from all over the world,” said Mary Federoff of Woodstock Wine and Liquors.

“You could see it on Friday and Saturday. People would come into the store. They were from all over the place. You just knew a Ramble was happening,” she said.

The music sessions drew visitors who tended to stay the weekends, buying food, drink and lodging, she said. “And, he kept it going right to the end.”

Though Helm was an international star, he was also one of the locals, said Donna Colontonio, owner of the C’est Cheese fromagerie on Tinker Street.

“I knew him from years ago when he used to play at The Lake,” said Colontonio, speaking about the now-defunct Joyous Lake nightclub.

“He gave us free concerts at Gill’s Farm in Hurley. He’d play concerts especially for the locals. He even played on the Village Green,” she said.

Though everyone knew he was sick, Colontonio said, people were nonetheless shocked at his passing.

“A lot of us have been here for a long time,” she said. “A lot of us knew him. He was part of our community.”

At the Woodstock Music Shop on Rock City Road, a vinyl record cover of Helm’s “Electric Dirt” album sat alone in the store window.

Inside, dozens of acoustic and electric guitars hung on the walls. Vinyl records stood on a turning display rack in the middle of the store — “The Jimi Hendrix Experience,” Janis Joplin’s “The Pearl Sessions,” and The Byrds’ “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better,” among them.

Six CDs of Helm’s music sat on display by the cash register.

They were all that shop owner Jeff Harrigfeld could find online this month in the way of Helm music and memorabilia.

“That’s all the distributor had left,” he said. “We looked and there was a bunch of stuff one minute. All of sudden, it was gone.”

Harrigfeld said the depth of Helm’s influence on the town was hard for him to describe.